How Does Eliot Portray The Class System In The Novel "Silas Marner"
How Does Eliot Portray The Class System In The Novel "Silas Marner" Marian Evans, who adopted the pseudonym of George Eliot, lived in a predominantly patriarchal society and therefore believed that society would not accept a female writer who wrote anything other than trivial novels. Victorian novelists aimed to educate their readers as well as entertain; as a result, they mostly used morals as the theme for their books. George Eliot wrote the novel Silas Marner in 1861. The moral theme of this novel is that everybody receives what they deserve in life. To present the characters and their social class the author uses many different methods, such as the way she describes the villagers in the novel. The villagers are superstitious; George Eliot informs the audience of this by expressing that: "Superstition clung easily round every person." Eliot implies that the villagers are feeble minded and reliant on their beliefs by using the verb "clung". She accomplishes this by using abstract nouns such as "mystery" to show that the villagers are ignorant and oblivious to the things that they do not understand. The novel is based in a parochial society. The society within which the novel is based was a small, insular society isolated from the wider world. Industry and education was minute resulting in ignorance and a simplistic mindset. George Eliot proves this when she
How well does George Eliot establish the setting in the first chapter? (Silas Marner)
George Eliot’s “Silas Marner” is set in the early 19th century. This novel is published in 1861 but is concerned with events from 1780s to 1820s making it a historical novel to some extent. There was a reference made to Napoleonic war that contributes to the time period this novel took place. In the first chapter, two places where depicted as the setting at different points of time. The Story is set mainly in Raveloe, although it also describes Lantern Yard when we learn about Silas's past. At the opening of the novel, Eliot tries to make the setting distanced from the readers. The time, physical setting and characters of the fictional village of Raveloe is obviously unfamiliar to the readers. Readers are then introduced to the lifestyles of 19th century workers, peasants and villagers who belong to the Victorian society in England. As the novel continues, Eliot starts unfolding story of a local enigmatic linen-weaver, Silas Marner, who is alienated from the society. The opening line of the story, “In the days when…” is a vivid description of a past norm with a fairy-tale quality which is possibly interchangeable with “once upon a time”. This foreshadows a fairy tale story with an upcoming conflict which will later be resolved resulting in a “happily ever after” ending. The first setting is the verdant, woody village of Raveloe which lies in the central
Discuss how Silas Marner changes in the novel Silas Marner by George Eliot.
Mary Anne Evans, who is better known by her pen name of George Eliot, is an amazing novelist. She was born in England in 1819 during the industrial revolution. Mary was very intelligent and due to her father's role in society (he was Robert Evans the Warwickshire estate agent for the Earl of Lonsdale) she was allowed to go to the libraries and study to gain knowledge. When she came to write her first novel (Scenes of Clerical Life) she decided to use a male name to ensure her work would be taken seriously, even though women writers could publish freely, George Eliot did not want to be known as a writer of romances which women authors usually were in those times. Mary Anne had many early influences on her writing, one of the main ones being religion. She was brought up within an Anglican family, but as she grew up and met new and more interesting people, Mary was introduced to more liberal ideas which made her doubt the bible stories and she refused to go to church. Her father was extremely angry and threatened to throw her out, but in the end Mary said she would go to church but would not believe and would think of other things. George Eliot was one of the leading writers of the Victorian era; she bases her work on the lives of the poor in the countryside. The time in history that George Eliot bases her work on is just before the Industrial Revolution. In the late 18th to
How does the arrival of Eppie make Silas Marner different?
How does the arrival of Eppie make Silas Marner different? In the story Silas Marner written by George Elliot in 1861 looks at the themes of justice and parenting. She shows us how Silas Marner starts off a prominent member of the community in Lantern Yard. Then he gets accused of stealing from the dying man. It was actually his best friend that stole the money. This makes him leave the community and become a hermit living in the woods by Raveloe earning his money by weaving. In the pre industrial age weavers were looked upon as mysterious creatures. Due to his unexplainable trances and his profession as a weaver he is stereotypically outcast from the community. He then finds Eppie and everything gets better for him and he is accepted in the community this enforces George Elliot's message that children have an affect on adults. At the start of the novel it portrays Silas as a well loved community member he is happy and is engaged to be married to a woman called Sarah "message from Sarah that she held her engagement" It shows that she loved him and I think that if she loved him and wanted to marry him he would be quite happy. He then gets accused of stealing whilst he was in one of his trances. This makes him recoil from the community like he had just been stung "I am sore stricken. I can say nothing. God will clear me." This quotation shows that he feels like he is in pain
At the end of Silas Marner, there is a feeling that justice has been done, that the bad have been punished and the good rewarded
English Coursework: At the end of Silas Marner, there is a feeling that justice has been done, that the bad have been punished and the good rewarded. Explain how far you agree with this statement Silas Marner was written by George Eliot in 1861, it is a novel about a man that used to live in the town of Ravaloe. He is a weaver that moved out of the village when he was wrongly accused of witchcraft and theft. The villagers thought that he had special powers, but in fact he was just a very clever fellow, who was interested in herbal remedies. However when it turned out that he didn't know any remedies that worked on an illness that one of the villagers had, all of the other villagers turned against him and accused him of not wanting to help them. Also, Silas sometimes suffered from fits, the other villagers saw him as being abnormal and therefore didn't want anything to do with him. Silas was quite happy with leaving the village and so he lived his very isolated live; "a spinning insect, he hated all thoughts of the past" Also in the novel there are two other important characters, their names are Dunsey and Godfrey. They are the two sons of the Squire Cass. Of the two sons Godfrey is the more good willed, he tries his best to do his father proud. "a fine open-faced good-natured young man." However the one big mistake of marrying Molly Farren seems to keep on dragging him back.
Do you believe that Godfrey Cass is too harshly judged by George Eliot; or do you think he deserves the consequences he suffers for the abandonment of his child?
Silas Marner Essay Do you believe that Godfrey Cass is too harshly judged by George Eliot; or do you think he deserves the consequences he suffers for the abandonment of his child? 'Silas Marner', is a contemplating novel by George Eliot (well-known Victorian authoress - pseudonym for Marian Evans). It is a novel based on family love, lies, and replacing lost treasures; the major themes of the tale. Set in Raveloe, and partly in Lantern Yard, as first we are in Lantern Yard, "in the early years of this century", then we move on fifteen years to Raveloe, and then another sixteen years on in Raveloe, acknowledging that the novel was set from before the 1780's, although the book was published in 1861. These periods of time, were when small towns were small communities, and people always believed in what the church said, so narrow-minded views were always present. The rural hierarchy was also important back then, and followed very acceptably. In the novel, we can see that Squire Cass, living in the Red House, is the greatest landowner in Raveloe, with his four sons, the eldest being Godfrey Cass, " a fine open-faced, good-natured young man". On the other hand, people living in the rest of Raveloe, for e.g. Silas Marner, were considered to be less worthy, than the Casses. The people of Raveloe accepted this fate and lived with the hierarchy. We will now pay particular interest
Consider the presentation of Squire Cass, Godfrey Cass and Silas Marner - How does Eliot explore the concept of fatherhood through these characters in the novel?
Silas Marner - Consider the presentation of Squire Cass, Godfrey Cass and Silas Marner. How does Eliot explore the concept of fatherhood through these characters in the novel? George Eliot's Silas Marner is the tale of how a man returns from being a social outcast to a loving father and member of the society of Raveloe. Eppie is the key to this change. She turns him into a loving, kind hearted person. Squire Cass has raised his two sons Godfrey and Dunstan in a different way and they are now spoilt, Dunstan a thief and Godfrey mentally weak. Eliot believes the children to be a good indication of if they have been brought up well by their parents. The novel is a moral fable, and in the end the characters all get what they deserve, the good people have children and the bad do not. Squire Cass's two sons Godfrey and Dunstan both turns out as bad people and later, Godfrey a bad father. Eliot blames this on Squire. When Dunstan originally goes missing, Squire doesn't care and assumes he will be back soon enough. He doesn't take interest in his son's day to day actions and his ruined them by spoiling them, assuming that money will replace the love he doesn't show. Eliot describes Squire as being a volcano. He makes harsh decisions and doesn't change his mind when he has calmed down and realised he was wrong, making him irrational and stubborn. This leads to his sons being afraid
Compare chapter 5 of Silas Marner, inwhich Silas finds his gold missing, with chapter 12, when Eppie arrives
Compare chapter 5 of Silas Marner, in which Silas finds his gold missing, with chapter 12, when Eppie arrives Eliot's novel is deeply philosophical and filled with psychological insight and thought. There are of course moral messages which Eliot's 'Silas Marner' leaves the reader with at the end of the novel, like many others written in the Victorian Era. In chapter 5 Eliot presents the reader with many ethical dilemmas and warnings. Through Marner's 'growing greed and worship of gold' Eliot warns the reader about the dangers of money and gold and how one can become easily obsessed with material objects, leading in turn to an empty, companionless life. This is exemplified by Marner, who prefers to remain home alone while the rest of the villagers gather at 'Mrs Osgood's birthday dance' at the Rainbow. Marner's overwhelming obsession with gold makes him blind to the other problems in his life, which are made more serious by his dependence on the gold, for example 'the light of his faith' has been 'completely put out', as Marner believes he no longer needs religion, now that he worships gold instead. Even though Marner has fallen into this materialistic lifestyle because he lacks the emotional substance he needs, the more he relies on his gold, the more it gathers 'his power of loving into a hard isolation like it's own', making it more difficult for him to re-enter into
Are there any similarities or differences in the way which Eliot presents Silas’ gold and his daughter, Eppie?
Jess Kay Are there any similarities or differences in the way which Eliot presents Silas' gold and his daughter, Eppie? Eppie and the gold have great importance to Silas Marner. They both are loved and give Silas a great sense of happiness but the gold unlike Eppie does not return the love. Silas' gold gets stolen by Dunstan Cass and when Silas returns home he does not realise until much later that it has gone. Silas feels greatly devastated and also is traumatised by the event that has taken place, he goes to extreme measures and faces the villagers that he has not come in contact with in all his fifteen years of living in Raveloe. When Silas finds Eppie there is instant love given to her and as she ages over the years she sees Silas as a father and loves him as he does her. The difference is that the gold, was much as loved as Eppie by Silas but was inanimate therefore would never be able to return that same love. When Silas comes to discover that his gold has been stolen he is in much despair. He goes to drastic heights to find out who the thief might be by accusing one totally innocent member of the Raveloe community, Jem Rodney, the local poacher. Without even thinking Silas storms down to the Rainbow Inn where he expects to find Jem and so he does. The villagers have many views on Silas because never has anyone spoken to him nor does Silas mingle with them. Godfrey
The outsider in Silas Marner.
The Outsider In Silas Marner Silas Marner is a novel that explores many different key themes. George Elliot has made this novel a very deep and meaningful story with complex characters and twisting plot. She has used a very wide range of technical and methodological language to bring the character of Silas Marner to life. Silas Marner is a weaver from the town of Lantern Yard. Silas suffers from cataleptic fits and left Lantern Yard after being accused of stealing money. William Dane set him up. Silas felt betrayed by his friend and there was no Justice. Silas moved to the village of Ravaloe where there is a close community. The villagers start to separate from him and exclude him from their community. Silas becomes very isolated and spends a lot of his time caring for and hoarding the gold that he has worked so hard for. This is bought across by Elliot's words, "...for it was pleasant to him to feel them in his palm, and look at their bright faces, which were all his own."(P17) This makes the gold seem almost like something that is living. The reader feels that Silas is attached to his gold and that he looks to it as if it were a pet or a relative. The word "faces" makes them sound creature like and it is Elliot's clever use of such metaphors that puts ideas into the readers mind throughout the novel. Silas' strange obsession with his gold adds to the suspicion of the